How to start a vlog channel

So you came here to learn how to vlog, let’s get started.

1. First things first you need to pick out your niche. This should be something that you enjoy. My niche is the life of a 13-year-old homeschooled Christian, name another channel like that! I’m not saying that there are no other channels like that out there, but very, very few. So find out what makes you unique and add it on to something you like to do. Maybe you are really good at standing on your head and you like fishing. You can vlog about your fishing adventures while standing on your head (Not that I recommend this).

2. Based on the niche you decided, conjure up a channel name. Try using word plays, rhymes, anything catchy. No one is gonna remember “Guy who stands on his head and goes fishing” so instead try out “Head fisherman”. Or you can be super simple and take your name and out vlogs after it. That’s what I did when I chose mine (Cody vlogs).

3. You’re gonna want a channel banner, something that represents your channel and gives visitors a glance at what your gonna be posting. Remember that this is the first thing people are gonna see when they come to your channel, so make it accordingly. Some things you should include on your banner include:

Upload schedule – the days your gonna upload

Channel colors – I always tell people to choose some colors that represent there channel (My thumbnails all have a gradient blue background – my banner does also)

A picture of you – unless you plan on never showing your face while vlogging you should include a picture of you in your banner

A picture that shows what you do – Maybe the picture is of you holding a fishing pole?

You also want to consider the age range your targeting. For fishing, you are probably targeting older men 30-60. If there over 60 they probably aren’t using YouTube. At that age range, you want your banner to be a basic picture with big lettering that shows what you do. If you’re like me and are an over-the-top 13-year-old your probably targeting younger kids ages 6-13. My banner is more of a cartoony style.

4. Profile picture! Based on how you made your banner, create a profile picture. Use the same colors but remember that a profile picture isn’t that big so you want to keep it simple. Mine is a picture of my face with a gradient blue background.

5. Fill in your about page – This is where all your visitors go if they want to figure out more about you before subscribing, so make it good. Everything you do on your channel depends on the audience you are targeting including this. Since I’m targeting kids I keep mine short and sweet, with some visuals. The first 2 sentences of my about page describe my channel. Bam! Done! I did include a bit of a more descriptive paragraph after that in case people want to know more. Visual wise I include this graph that shows my goals and how close I am to them. Things to focus on when writing your bio:

Keeping it short and to the point – don’t include unnecessary words and sentences.

Show who you are through words – make it comedic, poetic, slang-ish, whatever represents you!

6. Once you have gotten all of that done its time to publish your first video. I recommend that your first video tells about your channel and what you will be posting. This video should go on the front of your channel page. If you are not sure how to make a video like that you can check out my welcome video here. If you are don’t know how to feature a video on your front page check out this article.

7. CONTINUE POSTING! Now that you have your entire channel set up, It’s time to continue posting. Stay on your schedule and post vlogs that you enjoy creating. Do YouTube because it’s fun and don’t expect to earn a nickel.

8. Look back at what you have done, and improve – After a couple months of vlogging look back at what you have done. See what your audience likes and doesn’t like. Check out some of your most viewed videos. See what videos have the best engagement. Find out what type of videos your audience enjoyed the most and remake them.

8. Remake your channel trailer/welcome video – Now that you’ve posted some stuff remake your welcome video. Include clips of what you have done. Create it in a way that matches your niche. Make it fun!

9. Last but not least be yourself and have fun. If you aren’t having fun with it then it’s worthless. So create the type of content you want to create! Try to find a balance so that you’re having fun, and your audience is having fun watching.

Good luck, and happy vlogging!

IF YOU READ THIS WHOLE THING YOU ARE AMAZING! If you want to see my family vlog, my family blog, games, and much much more please click HERE!

Related

Who Am I?

I am a 13-year-old Christian homeschooler out of Illinois. I document my life as a teen through my blogs and vlogs. Yup, I do both. Most of my blogs show my views on things as a homeschooler. I’m to socially awkward to talk to people so my views are usually pretty different lol